Approximately 50,000 new learners have registered on the SWAYAM portal since March 23, as per an official statement from the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
However, considering the number of school and college students in the country, the number of new registrations on SWAYAM platform hints either there is non-availability of internet facilities or there is a lack of interest or knowledge among students about digital learning.
Internet is instrumental to the success of any digital initiative.
Recently, Delhi University professors had complained of slow internet speed and connectivity issues during online classes. The University is currently conducting online classes for thousands of students in the wake of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.
Ever since the government ordered educational bodies to remain closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, HRD Ministry has been promoting e-learning and digital methods to help students keep pace with their studies.
The courses on SWAYAM platform are integrated with conventional teaching and courses completed on SWAYAM can account for 20% of the credit assigned to a course.
On SWAYAM students can access courses level-wise, i.e. Secondary, Senior Secondary levels, or stream-wise, i.e. Arts, Math, Engineering etc.
More than 1,000 specially chosen faculty and teachers from across the country have participated in preparing these courses. For engineering courses National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) is the coordinator while for non technical post-graduation education, UGC is the national coordinator. Likewise, for school education the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) ensures quality content and for management courses IIM Bangalore is the national coordinator.
Courses delivered through SWAYAM are available free of cost to the learners, however those who want a SWAYAM certificate should register for the final proctored exams that come at a fee and attend in-person at designated centres on specified dates.
The HRD Ministry has launched Swayam Prabha DTH channels for school students recently. "Dear Students, to make sure that you stay connected with your studies even when you are away from school, we are soon launching e-classes on SWAYAM Prabha DTH channels, full of school education content aligned with your ongoing syllabus," Mr Nishank tweeted. "Time-slots of 4 hours daily has been approved on Swayam Prabha DTH channels for selected states. Since you are missing school due to COVID-19, we urge you to make the most of this time & stay connected with your studies. We are taking this on priority (sic)," he added.
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